Since many personal items, workplace items, and national security items are of very critical value to individuals, governments, law enforcement, national security, and corporations, the ability to be aware at the earliest possible time that a valuable item/item of interest is taken without the owner's knowledge and/or consent is of great interest to society and the owner of the valuable item. The item of interest may be a car, credit card, wallet, keys, or any physical object. The loss of a credit card, driver's license or other valuable item can be a major concern for individuals.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,274 discloses a near field communication device included in a secure transaction card provides an addition and/or transitional communication link for communicating secure transaction information. The near field communication device may be selectively engaged or disengaged and, when engaged, either active or passive modes of operation of the near field communication device can be selected. in the active mode, secure transaction information is transmitted upon establishment of a communication link with a complementary near field communication device. In the passive mode, secure transaction information is transmitted upon interrogation from a complementary near field communication device. Secure transaction information is generated and stored for transmission in a memory and at least a portion of the memory is erased or nulled upon transmission or upon expiration of a selected period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,434 discloses a credit card carrier having a plurality of individual card holder pockets formed of celluloid or similar thin plastic material. Each of the pockets is mounted on a flap of the wallet and is adapted to receive a credit card. Each of the pockets is placed one upon another in overlapping relationship and each pocket is provided with an opening for receiving a switch. A switch is formed from a pair of Mylar strips, one of which is the mirror image of the other. The Mylar strips face each other and each facing surface is provided with a thin layer of electrically conducting metallic foil. The switch includes a plurality of arms projecting upwardly and outwardly from the central portion of the strip and all of the arms are electrically connected one to the other. Each of the arms projects into the opening so that each pocket receives one pair of switch arms. The arms are biased toward each other by a spring clip member which engages a portion of each of the arms. A credit card when inserted into a pocket between a pair of arms breaks contact between the arms. A proximity switch is also included in the circuitry which must be closed for an alarm to sound in the event a card is missing from a pocket.
These patents are incorporated by reference in their entirety.